Nina takes a turn on the tills to raise money for Yorkshire Down Syndrome Group

Nina takes a turn on the tills to raise money for Yorkshire Down Syndrome Group

Meet Nina – the 16-year-old from the Yorkshire Down Syndrome Group who was a big hit with our customers when she served on the checkouts during a fundraising visit to Asda's Dewsbury store.

The customers loved her – she was brilliant!

The group came worked in conjunction with the store for a number of weeks, packing bags and collecting donations to go towards new play equipment for their new activity centre.

Nina fancied having a go on the tills, so our colleagues offered to help. Nina learned how to operate the till form checkout collegue Kelly, before going on to spend an hour serving customers.

Sharon Kingswood, the store’s Community Life Champion, said: “Nina was expressing her interest in working on an Asda checkout, so we gave her a bit of training to go on one. The customers loved her – she was brilliant!”

Nina enjoyed being on the till so much that Sharon has arranged for her to return to the store with her mum later this month to gain more retail experience. She’ll also be joined by Roger Ram, the mascot for Dewsbury Rams Rugby Club, who will be there to help her raise funds for the Yorkshire Down Syndrome Group.

So far through fundraising at the store, the group has raised £1,078. Among the volunteers for the recent event was Miss Teen England, Apollonia Llewellyn, who offered to help with the fundraising efforts after meeting Clare Ellardy who helps run the group.

One of the most successful bag-packs she's seen in store, Sharon is looking forward to working with the group again in future: "The thing that touched us the most was hearing how many people use the group. Some people said it was the only group where their child could go.

“They were overwhelmed with the support. What we’ve done in the last six weeks has made such a difference.”

If you're in the Dewsbury store this month, keep a look out for Nina on the tills and don't forget to say hello.